AMHERST -- Walk into the Glazed Doughnut Shop and you'll encounter bright blue and orange walls, hanging robot and doughnut art and some of Amherst High School sweethearts and owners Keren and Nick Rhodes' unique creations.

In the glass display case you might find cinnamon chili doughnuts, maple bacon bars and the "Elvis," a doughnut covered in banana glaze and decorated with chocolate and peanut butter drizzle. They also bake more traditional fan favorites like vanilla and chocolate frosted with sprinkles.

"We grew up and we were like, 'Why does Amherst not have a little doughnut shop?' Every thriving college town should have a doughnut shop," Keren Rhodes said.

The shop, located at 233 N. Pleasant Street, opened in mid-October and has been serving up doughnuts of all shapes, sizes and flavors from 7 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 8 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. on Sunday.

They aim have about 20 to 25 different doughnuts on a given weekday and about 30 or 40 on a Saturday, Keren Rhodes said. The more traditional chocolate and vanilla frosted flavors are available on a daily basis, but the couple regularly swaps in and out filled doughnut flavors, which are actually cut in half so the filling is more evenly distributed.

Dozens start at $10, but specialty pastries like filled doughnuts and fritters cost $0.50 to $1 extra. After 9:30 p.m. all doughnut dozens are discounted to $5.

"We have now a quite loyal following of college students," Keren Rhodes said. "We're right between two of the major bars. So they come through and they get their discounted doughnuts, and they don't care that they're 24 hours old."

Though the Glazed Doughnut Shop does see college students come in late, Keren Rhodes said the shop's customer base is largely made up of townspeople.

Business is steady throughout the day with morning customers stopping by for a dozen and some coffee from Esselon Coffee in Hadley and grade-school students coming by midday for treats after the nearby middle school dismisses.

And though Rhodes said she loves to bake, the path to opening a specialty doughnut shop in was "a little like a series of accidents." The couple opened and ran cell phone accessory kiosks in local malls before they started a few doughnut shops, also in local malls.

"Between wanting to sort of express our own foodie creative juices and wanting to find something that in the long run was going to be a more secure future for us" the Rhodes landed on their little shop in downtown Amherst, she said.